Part three of my list series featuring great movies at NU's Snell library! Again, films at the library are available for free to all students! All the films can be accessed by the library via their call numbers, which are all listed at the end of the article. Happy free film viewing!

1.     21 Grams by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Iñárritu is one of the modern masters in my opinion. This movie is devastating. 21 Grams is a fractured narrative that highlights the inevitable fate of some and the failure of material wealth to bring happiness for others.

Other films by Iñárritu at the library include Amores Perros and Biutiful.

2.     Zelig by Woody Allen

Loser in this week's vote for Director/Actor week, Woody Allen’s under seen film Zelig is a brilliant look at a man who is a chameleon.

Other films by Woody Allen at the library include Annie Hall, Another Woman, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Hannah and Her Sisters, Interiors, Love and Death, Manhattan, Melinda and Melinda, Midnight in Paris, The Purple Rose of Cairo, September and Stardust Memories.

3.     The Messenger by Oren Moverman

A modern indie that doesn’t get nearly enough buzz is Oren Moverman’s The Messenger. This is one of my favorite war films, looking at 21st century US wars through the lens of soldiers whose job is to inform families of their loved one’s death. It’s a difficult, but worthy watch.

4.     Sansho the Bailiff by Kenji Mizoguchi

When it comes to Japanese cinema, most start with Ozu or Kurosawa. Don’t miss out on the forgotten third musketeer Mizoguchi, who is a genius, feminist, master filmmaker.

Other Mizoguchi films at Snell include Life of Oharu, Osaka Elegy, Street of Shame, Ugetsu.

5.     Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick’s entrancing last film is sadly underrated and under seen. The visuals and story will captivate you…it’s a lot more than the occasional orgy jokes give it credit for.

Other Stanley Kubrick films at Snell include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita, Paths of Glory, The Shining, and Spartacus.

6.     Bamboozled by Spike Lee

Spike Lee tackles race in a whole new way. Perplexed as to why this film faded into obscurity.

Other Spike Lee films at the library include Crooklyn, Do the Right Thing, Get on the Bus, He Got Game, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Passing Strange, School Daze and When the Levees Broke.

7.     Millennium Actress by Satoshi Kon

Very few have explored the catalog of Satoshi Kon, and if they have, they’ve only seen Paprika. This film is better. It’s more for people familiar with modern Japanese history (20th century) and Japanese cinema.

8.     Somewhere by Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere requires a lot of patience. She explores the vanity of Los Angeles and the celebrity lifestyle. The main character is an actor who we quickly see is bored by the “cool” things awarded to the rich and famous, like in this case, personal strippers. We watch him rediscover life through the mundane, finding value in playing guitar hero with his daughter and simply being involved in her life. 

Other Sofia Coppola films at Snell include The Bling Ring, Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides.

9.     Antichrist by Lars Von Trier

Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist is a difficult film to watch, and I can’t say I recommend it unless you’re a masochist or really love masterful visual artists. Two images in this film still horrify me and haunt me as I type this. That being said, it’s a masterful look at a woman’s guilt as her desire for sex stole her attention while her child fell out a window and died.

Other Lars Von Trier films at Snell include Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville and Manderlay.

Call numbers for all films mentioned are listed below in alphabetical order (The Hub is the collection of DVDs in the lobby where you walk in, the films with PN are on the third floor. When you enter the floor, head diagonally straight and right):

21 Grams PN1995.9.S87 A123 2004

2001: A Space Odyssey: PN1995.9.S26 A16 1999

Amores Perros PN1995.9.F67 A57 2002

Annie Hall PN1995.9.C55 A66 1998

Another Woman PN1997 .A66 2001

Antichrist PN1995.9.H6 A58 2010

Bamboozled PN1995.9.C55 B343 2001b

Barry Lyndon: PN1995.9.A3 B37 1999

Biutiful The Hub

The Bling Ring PN1997.2 .B55 2013

Breaking the Waves PN1995.9.L6 B73 1999

Crimes and Misdemeanors PN1995.9.C55 C74 2001

Crooklyn: PN1995.9.C55 C76 1994

Dancer in the Dark PN1995.9.M86 D37 2001

Do the Right Thing: PN1997 .D63 2001

Dogville PN1995.9.G3 D64 2003

Dr. Strangelove: PN1995.9.C55 D7 1999

Eyes Wide Shut: PN1995.9.S87 E947 2001

Full Metal Jacket: DS557.73 .F85 2007

Get on the Bus: PN1995.9.H5 G48 2000

Hannah and Her Sisters PN1995.9.C55 H366 2005

He Got Game: The Hub

Interiors PN1995.9.F35 I58 1984

Jungle Fever: The Hub

Life of Oharu PN1995.9.F67 S255 1983

Lolita: The Hub

Love and Death PN1995.9.C55 L673 1990

Malcolm X: PN1995.9.B55 M35 2000

Manderlay PN1995.9.M45 M36 2005

Manhattan PN1995.9.C55 M363 2000

Marie Antoinette PN1995.9.B55 M365 2007

Melinda and Melinda PN1995.9.C55 M45 2005

The Messenger The Hub

Midnight in Paris: The Hub

Millennium Actress: The Hub

Mo’ Better Blues: PN1997 .M6353 1990

Osaka Elegy PN1995.9.F67 N36 1988

Paprika: The Hub

Passing Strange: PN1995.9.M86 P37 2010

Paths of Glory: D522.23 .P38 1999

The Purple Rose of Cairo: The Hub

Sansho the Bailiff PN1995.9.F67 S364 2007

School Daze: The Hub

September PN1997 .S3232 2001

The Shining: PN1995.9.H6 S55 1999

Somewhere PN1997.2 .S669 2011

Spartacus: PN1995.9.H5 S6837 2001

Stardust Memories PN1995.9.C55 S73 1982

Street of Shame PN1995.9.F67 A396 1986

Tokyo Godfathers PN1997.5 .T65 2004

Ugetsu PN1995.9.F67 U25 2005

The Virgin Suicides The Hub

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in four acts - HV636 2005.L8 W54 2006

Zelig PN1995.9.C55 Z45 2005

Inequality for All, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, looks at economic inequality across US history. For better or worse, it’s a liberal lecture. It’s a very good lecture, but great documentaries aren’t lectures.

The film explores the ideas of Robert Reich, a best-selling author who teaches public and economic policy at top institutions, and served three presidential administrations including Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. A surprising amount of the movie is literally Reich teaching at UC Berkeley.

The film has very good information and Reich is very intelligent. However, it wastes its opportunity to communicate that by building to classic liberal condescension. What is the point? Why are they just preaching to the choir? Rally the liberal troops? If they really wanted to start a dialogue, they wouldn’t be doing a limited release either. Why no VOD? Why not TV?

I’m frustrated and disappointed. There is more we can be doing to start a dialogue about these issues. Why waste Reich's intelligence on people who agree with him? Why be condescending to people who could learn from him? I hope Inequality for All gets to people that can learn from it (it won’t).

Grade: B/B-

Inequality for All comes out in Boston today at the Kendall Square Cinema.

Don Jon Done Good

Grade: A-

My first advanced screening experience was quite unforgettable. Not because it was the first time I stood in line to maybe get into the screening, not because Joseph-Gordon Levitt spoke to us in-person before the screening, but because I saw it with someone I just met. Don Jon is a story about Jon, American-Italian bartender in New Jersey, who goes on a journey to make his sex life, as satisfying as masturbating.

Keep in mind, this is Levitt’s first feature film that he has written, directed and starred in. He is no Ben Affleck, but he is not too far behind.  Jon, played by Joseph-Gordon Levitt, is a systematic character. He goes to church, the gym, the club, takes someone home and has family dinner on Sunday nights. The shots are systematic, but as he and the story changes, so do the shots. We also see signs of a good writing by use of tools like repeating and varying jokes about not being aware of commonly known things. The entire cast had solid performances. I’m not from the area, so I cannot say how authentic the accents were, however, it clearly came more naturally to Scarlett Johansson than it did for Levitt. I truly believe this is an effect of taking on so many of the roles in the production process, something that Chris Nolan warned him about. There are many other aspects to consider diving into, like his religious beliefs and how they clash with non-marital sex and masturbating habits, and the film is worthy of subsequent viewings to further dissect these topics

Given the topic Levitt takes the risk of being very vulnerable to us, and in this case the reward matches the risk. Levitt had been working on the script for this movie since 2008, and it clearly shows that a lot of thought went into the movie. It’s a great movie, see it if you get the chance. I honestly cannot say who you should watch this with…well not kids…or anyone with no experience in bumping uglies, hiding the salami, playing on all fours, feeding the kitten etc.  It really depends on how comfortable you are with the topic. I watched this movie with someone I met five minutes before the show. It’s a good thing she was cool about it, because there were many porn clips in the movie. See it, get out of your comfort zone, and see it.    

The Kings of Summer is the directorial debut of Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and on paper, it shouldn’t really be anything that special. Two boys, fed up with their parents, run off and build a house in the woods to live on their own, joined by their comedic oddball friend. Inevitably, a girl comes between them. But thanks to skilled direction, gorgeous cinematography, and great performances, The Kings of Summer manages to become a funny, potent, and often times beautiful coming-of-age comedy/drama.

The film focuses on three teenage boys: Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso), and their offbeat, weird companion Biaggio (Moises Arias). A good portion of the film centers on their exploits in the woods, trying to make it on their own. The supporting cast turns in some of the most memorable performances in the movie, with Nick Offerman’s turn as Joe’s father Frank being at once sardonically funny and truly sad. Patrick’s parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson) are pitch perfect as the overbearing, but ultimately loving family. And the two cops assigned to the boys’ disappearance (Eugene Cordero and Mary Lynn Rajskub) are excellent counterweights to the parents’ frantic craziness.

The Kings of Summer is also easily the best looking coming-of-age film I’ve ever seen. Scenes between the three boys are interspersed with gorgeous shots of the wooded paradise they’ve escaped to. A rabbit sniffs some berries resting on a leaf. Water reflects the orangey sprinkled rays of the setting sun. Wind makes waves over a field of golden wheat. It’s beautiful, and the cuts between the main characters and these nature shots never feel forced. There are a lot of them, but we never feel taken out of the moment. The story always maintains focus, and these dreamy sequences of trees and animals only reinforce the idyllic environment the three boys find themselves in. Vogt-Roberts shows confidence and conviction in both the composition of the shots as well as the structure of the film. In a less talented director’s hands, the frequent cuts to woodland creatures would feel pretentious and out of place, but they work beautifully here.

The script is where the film stumbles. I wasn’t convinced about the basis of Biaggio’s relationship with Joe and Patrick. They first come together as a matter of circumstance, and when Biaggio continues to stick around, Joe jokes that he can’t figure out how to tell Biaggio how to leave. Establishing his presence as a joke isn’t the right way to introduce him. It is, often times, heavy-handed and quite blunt in its intent. Joe and Patrick discuss the nature of their undertaking and how they’ve become real men in at least four different scenes. The catalyst that sparks the end sequence is almost too obvious, thanks to the multiple instances of foreshadowing. It’s fine to straight up tell the audience what you’re trying to get at, once in a while. But only do it once in a while.

For each of the script’s problems, however, there is a flash of brilliance. Biaggio’s endless stream of one-liners that seem to come out of nowhere kept me laughing, and he surprisingly shows some solid character development. Frank’s dialogue is altogether great, with his armor of sarcasm giving way to moments of vulnerability. And the interaction between Joe and Patrick is believable and true. One scene in particular stands out: sitting by the fire eating chicken from Boston Market, the three boys discuss (once again) how they are the masters of their own fate, how no one can tell them what to do. But then Joe throws a chicken bone on the ground, which Patrick, annoyed, picks up and throws in the fire. Joe chides Patrick about what a stiff he is, but Patrick retorts that food on the ground attracts mice, and mice attract snakes. From now on, they need to dispose of their food properly. It’s a small, seemingly insignificant moment, but it shows how much their characters are really shaped by their parents. Patrick, for all his disdain towards them, wants to create order and to keep their house clean, just like his parents. And Joe shrugs off Patrick’s complaints and makes fun of him, like his own father would. It’s a subtle comparison but one that really works. I wish the film had explored the two boys’ similarities to their parents a little more.

While The Kings of Summer occasionally slips up in the scripting department, the chemistry between its three leads, the sharpness of its supporting cast, and the elegant, assured cinematography more than make up for it.

Grade: B+

This week, NUFEC member Ben Garbow talked with Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director of this year’s sleeper indie hit The Kings of Summer. Vogt-Roberts started out directing online short films, including Successful Alcoholics starring T. J. Miller, and he co-wrote and directed the TV series Mash Up on Comedy Central.

The Kings of Summer had its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it played in U.S. Dramatic Competition. The movie also won the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the Dallas International Film Festival.

NUFEC: First, congratulations on all the success The Kings of Summer has received. Second, when are we getting a Biaggio spinoff movie?

Jordan Vogt-Roberts: [laughs] You know what’s funny, I’ve never considered a sequel to this movie, but I do regularly joke that the only sequel I would ever make is a spinoff movie of just Biaggio. Like, El Mariachi or something like that with Biaggio. Or The Bourne Identity with Biaggio. That is something I would make. Maybe when my career and [screenwriter Chris Galletta’s] career run out of steam, we would make the Biaggio movie.

NUFEC: I would watch that. So you started out making online shorts with your friends?

JVR: Yeah, I mean, boy, no budget, no anything, no crew, just me and the camera. I was holding the boom on all of it myself, just kind of making little shorts myself. I went to Columbia in Chicago so I was just, you know, on the train with a backpack full of gear making shorts.

NUFEC: And then you made “Successful Alcoholics,” which I love. It’s one of my favorite short films. And that met with considerable success at Sundance.

JVR: Yeah, that was made a little later once I had made a bunch of shorts. All the shorts I was making online were a couple minutes long, and I wanted to make something that was longer and it was kind of my statement: “Hey, I can make something that invests you in character and story.” And we went to Sundance and what’s funny is out of Sundance there actually wasn’t that much buzz about it. It wasn’t until like a year or so later that we released it online and then people started buzzing about it and talking about it. It wasn’t one of those immediate successes though. It took some time before people kind of invested themselves. It just sort of came out of nowhere.

NUFEC: So how did you go about deciding to direct your first feature film?

JVR: I always wanted to make features. As difficult and otherworldly as it seems, it’s always what I wanted to do. That’s why I got into filmmaking. So I made the short and I was doing [the TV show Mash Up] and I was doing commercials and I had been around long enough that they were considering me for movies but I still hadn’t found something for myself that I just loved, you know? At that point you get offered a lot of really bad movies [laughs] that no one really wants to make. And then this script came along and I just freaked out. It was so good and so special. Chris had given it such a voice and I just kind of knew immediately. I was like, “This is the movie that I need to make. This is the movie that I want to make.” It was so perfect for what I wanted to do for my first feature. Something that was funny, heartfelt, and had style to it, and wasn’t a mumblecore movie or a found footage movie. I could push things cinematically and I could play with tone, so it fit sort of perfectly in the world of what I wanted to do.

NUFEC: What struck you as different between making shorts and feature length films? Where was the biggest learning curve?

JVR: Honestly, the transition… I think I spent so much time worrying about it in the months leading up to it. You only get the chance to make your first feature once. It is something you spend time stressing out about. Luckily on our production I didn’t really have time to stress out about it. All I had to do was solve the problems in front of me. I really was working 20 hour days in prep just making sure I was prepared and everything was in order and I was spending so much time just putting out fires that I didn’t have time to stress about learning curves. You’re at the first day of production and you think to yourself, “Oh. I just shot the first day of my movie.” It’s kind of like everything else. Honestly, it wasn’t that different than what I had been doing because at a certain point you train yourself well enough, you kind of just show up and do your job. The real learning curve came in the release of the film, going to Sundance and having it out in the world and distributing it out to theaters. That was the biggest learning curve for me because that really was a process that I had never gone through before. Doing press, doing the media tour, having anyone in the world be able to see the movie that emotionally was unlike anything that I’ve ever gone through.

NUFEC: One thing in the movie I really loved was the gorgeous cinematography. It was unlike anything I had ever really seen before in a coming-of-age movie. Were you worried about coming off as a bit pretentious?

JVR: [laughs] I don’t think I ever worried about pretentious. Visuals are a big deal to me in general, which is why, like I said, I didn’t want to make a found footage movie or a mumblecore movie. It bums me out that people want to put comedy in a box and that they don’t want to spend time on how it looks. And a big part of this movie was kind of a thesis statement for me: Hey, comedy can be beautiful. You can walk out of a comedy and be like, wow, that was visually arresting. The elements of making a dumb Terrence Malick movie, combining these ethereal visuals with jokes, that was something we kind of had to feel out in the edit, and that was something I always knew was going to be a very delicate balance because if you go too far in the edit of that then people are gonna feel like, ah, okay, now you’re just trying to be thoughtful. In the shooting of it, no, I never worried too much about the pretentiousness of it while we were shooting it.

NUFEC: That one sequence with the three of them banging on the pipe really resonated with me. The movie just captures adolescence so well. I remember doing the same thing when I was younger, going into the woods with my friends and just doing stuff. We didn’t really know why we did it, we just did. How did your own childhood shape the feel of the movie? 

JVR: While it’s not autobiographical, the core tenets of what I took away from that age in my life are very much on screen. It’s this idea that that period in your life is an explosion of freedom and unlike any freedom that you’ll ever have again for the rest of your life, and you’re also barreling towards adulthood in a way that is horrifying and heartbreaking and you’re trying to figure out who you are and you can’t and the only way to really figure out who you are is to fall flat on your face, hard. So I do think it’s a time of great highs and great lows but it was more important to me to capture moments like that that people can watch and say, oh, that feels authentic. That feels real. That feels like my childhood. I wanted people to invest themselves in a summer that they never had. And so a lot of that was the kids. That thing on the pipe where they’re banging, that’s them. That’s them really sort of improvising and having fun and I think that the earnestness of that fun comes across.

NUFEC: Going off of that, how much of the dialogue between Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio was scripted? It all felt very natural.

JVR: A lot was scripted. There’s a lot of stuff in Chris’s script that is very much as written, but there’s also a lot of stuff that is improvised and that is the three of them messing around, taking liberties with their characters. But we only tried to use improv as a way to enhance character as opposed to building it. Chris wrote a really fantastic script and we just tried to build off of that.

NUFEC: The soundtrack is stellar, too. I was kind of jumping out of my seat when MGMT and Youth Lagoon started playing. But it also dips into classic rock and some hip-hop. How did you go about choosing the music?

JVR: Ryan Miller does the soundtrack and he killed it with kind of a video game-based score. But then I wanted to complement that with music that felt like as much of a mash-up as the influences of the movie were a mash-up. You know, Thin Lizzy, classic rock to super contemporary hip-hop to something like Youth Lagoon are pretty all over the map. I wanted it to be music that felt fresh but also felt sort of timeless. The moments where hip-hop comes in, especially the montage later in the movie, that’s a moment I think normally would be filled with like acoustic guitar, and to me that’s not what the movie is. The generation of kids now, they would be thinking of hip-hop. That’s what would be framing their world. I just wanted it to feel fresh and different and to make as much of a statement with the music as I was trying to make with everything else.

The Kings of Summer comes out on Blu-ray, VOD and other home video Tuesday, September 24th. You can find it on iTunes, and Amazon.

Hugh Jackman is a desperate man. His and his best friend’s daughter have been kidnapped from their quiet Georgia neighborhood on a rainy Thanksgiving day. Jake Gyllenhaal, the brooding detective assigned to the case, doesn’t look like he’s giving 100% to finding them. So what does Hugh do? He locks up a suspect — a dude with a sketchy-ass RV with the IQ of a 10-year-old to boot (excellently played by Paul Dano) — in an abandoned apartment and tortures the hell out of him to find out where they are.

From scene one of Prisoners, my breath was shortened and my eyes were fascinated – a beautiful (seriously outstanding) piece of cinematography coupled with a stellar cast kept my attention for the seemingly unattractive 2hr 33min runtime. The gravity and immediacy of the subject matter, plus the disturbing nature of just how far a father will go to save his daughter, kept me on my toes and guessing at the truth.

This is the type of story where morals are tested; it’s a definite “what would you do?” slap in the face, especially for those who have young children of their own.

An orgy love-child of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Heavy Rain (right – the video game), and The Lovely Bones, Prisoners will leave you morally exhausted and frustratingly tense. Enthralling and unsettling, it’ll make you think twice about sending your kiddies out to play.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Predicting nominations for Jackman and/or Gyllenhaal, as well as cinematography for Roger Deakins and *maybe* original screenplay. Director Denis Villenueve’s Hollywood studio debut.

Marissa has a blog with Eden Shulman, called Bitter Burnouts.

Part two of my list series featuring great movies at NU's Snell library! Again, films at the library are available for free to all students! All the films can be accessed by the library via their call numbers, which are all listed at the end of the article. Happy free film viewing!

1.     Kill Bill, Volume One by Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino’s bad ass action flick is a great time, especially if you love seeing strong women murder arrogant men. Other Quentin Tarantino films at Snell include Kill Bill, Volume Two (which I don't recommend as highly), Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Jackie Brown and Inglorious Basterds.

2.     Argo by Ben Affleck

How about last year's Best Picture winner, Argo! I have my reservations about it being the Best Picture of last year, but it's a THRILLING ride. Also available at Snell is Affleck's Boston film The Town, which is quite entertaining itself.

3.     The Pixar Suite

Snell has a nice suite of Pixar films available including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Cars, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille, UP, Toy Story 3 and Brave. All are worth your time, although the Toy Story films, Ratatouille and UP are my favorite of those at Snell.

4.     Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen

On the more whimsical side of things is Woody Allen’s recent film, which is lovely fun. It's filled with arts & culture references that will excite your nerd brain! Shots of Paris are stunning and the acting is excellent.

5.     Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Edgar Wright

It was impossibly hard to choose an image for this film. Do I highlight the romance or the action? The action works much better, although the romantic images are just so effective. If the marketing just showed me this shot of Cera and Winstead, they'd already have my $10. Edgar Wright’s video game style action film is tremendous, watch it! Scott Pilgrim is especially for people familiar with the universe of video games.

Note: I love the movie but the books are so much better, read them!

6.     The Shining by Stanley Kubrick

Does horror tickle your fancy when looking for fun? Kubrick’s classic is masterful, and that's really all that needs to be said. Amazing film. While Kubrick's other films don't quite fit as films to unwind to (and this one is worthy of greater attention if you're willing to give it), it is my duty to inform you of Snell's extensive Kubrick collection! Includes Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. My personal favorites are The Shining, Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut.

7.     The Films of Studio Ghibli, including Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki

If you're not already convinced by this image from Howl's Moving Castle, I don't know what else to do. In this image alone you can see the detail of Ghibli's visuals, their beauty, their love for nature and their inherent Japanese-ness. Pixar’s Japanese rival Studio Ghibli has their own share of brilliant films. While Snell has a great selection overall, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro are great options for unwinding. This might be a good place to start before exploring the heavier stuff like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Spirited Away is easily one of my favorite films, a masterpiece.

The other Ghibli films at Snell are Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service.

8.     The Devil Wears Prada by David Frankel

If you were waiting for a romantic comedy, this is it. Re-watch this classic or show it to a first-timer.

9.     Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle

Pattern emerging: Hollywood likes guilt-free entertainment. Danny Boyle’s delightful Academy Award winner for Best Picture is ripe for a re-evaluation, and a nice way to relax and have fun! Other Danny Boyle films at Snell, which are excellent but not for unwinding, are 127 Hours and Trainspotting.

10.     Passing Strange by Spike Lee

How about an excellent filmed Broadway musical? Nobody seems to know about this intriguing project. I loved Spike Lee’s Passing Strange, and I bet you will too.

Call numbers for all films mentioned are listed below in alphabetical order (The Hub is the collection of DVDs in the lobby where you walk in, the films with PN are on the third floor. When you enter the floor, head diagonally straight and right):

127 Hours: The Hub

2001: A Space Odyssey: PN1995.9.S26 A16 1999

A Bug’s Life: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 B84 1999

Argo: The Hub

Barry Lyndon: PN1995.9.A3 B37 1999

Brave: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 B73 2012

Cars: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 C319 2006

Castle in the Sky: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 T46 2003

The Devil Wears Prada: PN1997.2 .D48 2006

Dr. Strangelove: PN1995.9.C55 D7 1999

Eyes Wide Shut: PN1995.9.S87 E947 2001

Finding Nemo: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 .F56 2013

Full Metal Jacket: DS557.73 .F85 2007

Howl’s Moving Castle: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 H38 2006

The Incredibles: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 I52 2005

Inglorious Basterds: The Hub

Jackie Brown: The Hub AND PN1995.9.F54 J33 2002

Kiki’s Delivery Service: The Hub

Kill Bill, Volume One: The Hub AND PN1995.9.A3 K525 2004

Kill Bill, Volume 2: PN1995.9.A3 K526 2004

Lolita: The Hub

Midnight in Paris: The Hub

Monsters Inc: Favat Children's Collection, PN1997.2 .M66 2013

My Neighbor Totoro: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 T665 2006

Natural Born Killers: PN1995.9.C66 N38 1995

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: PN1997.5 .K39 2005

Passing Strange: PN1995.9.M86 P37 2010

Paths of Glory: D522.23 .P38 1999

Princess Mononoke: PN1995.9.F67 M667 2000

Pulp Fiction: The Hub

Ratatouille: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 R38 2007

Reservoir Dogs: The Hub

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: PN1995.9.A3 S36 2010

The Shining: PN1995.9.H6 S55 1999

Slumdog Millionaire: The Hub

Spartacus: PN1995.9.H5 S6837 2001

Spirited Away: PN1997.5 .S657 2003

The Town: The Hub

Toy Story: PN1995.9.C45 T69 2000

Toy Story 3: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 .T693 2010

Trainspotting: The Hub

Up: Favat Children's Collection, PN1995.9.C45 U6 2009 AND PN1995.9.C45 U6 2009

Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s new film C.O.G. is an adaptation of David Sedaris’ short story Naked, about a recent Yale graduate who decides to get out of his comfort zone by working on an apple farm in Oregon. C.O.G. debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

When I saw the trailer for this movie some time ago, I was mildly curious to see it. Recently I had the unique opportunity to do so, and I was not a fan of the ambiguous nature of the film.

I can understand a story about a character that is trying to “find himself.” In this case, Sam (played by Johnathan Groff, from Glee) is trying to better understand his sexuality. I was frustrated by the way the film is constantly inconclusive. It confused me, in a way that I don't believe was intended.

There is lot of religious tension in this movie too. Sam turns from an atheist to a C.O.G. “Child of God”…I think. I just don’t know. He decides to openly say he believes in god, when in an alarmingly dangerous situation. It’s all confusing to me. At one point in the movie, a religious man rejects Sam for who he is, or thinks he is. Sam cries, but when he leaves the situation, he stops crying…So I don’t know? Did he decide he doesn’t need religion? Or how does he feel about the relationship between his sexuality and god? I don’t know; it’s not clear.

Maybe ambiguity is the objective, and if that is the case, I think it was a bad choice. That’s not to say ambiguity in all movies is bad, however it is poorly executed in this film. If you’re going to make a movie about religion and/or sexuality, say something about it! Or at least be clear what you are trying to say is ambiguous. I have not read the short story, but it has to be better. It has to be!

Outside of the cloud of uncertainty about uncertainty, it was a well-shot movie. I’m not crazy about the score, which consists of a series of handclaps and long held notes. I like that style of music, but it reminded me of a score in an action film called The Raid so it personally threw me off.

Don’t see this movie. Don’t show your friends, family. Maybe suggest it to your worst enemies but even I think that it’s still too cruel a fate for a rival.    

Grade: F

I was fortunate to attend the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium this year, seeing fifteen films. This "Chapter" has my last set of film reviews.

Blue is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche

Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopouolos and Lea Seydoux have made a remarkable film, worthy of all the praise it has received, including the Palme d’or at Cannes. Blue is romantic and real, pulsing with uncomfortable sincerity. Surely you’ve heard about its prominent lesbian sexuality, which is not gratuitous or irresponsible. As some of my fellow students pointed out, the film’s central relationship is primarily driven by sexuality, and thus, extended sex scenes are a necessity.

Kechiche is by no means trying to exploit these two girls. It’s not a coincidence that we see Adele eating spaghetti casually like when no one is watching. The film doesn’t just focus on Adele in the bedroom, but rather as a lost high school student discovering her identity, and not just her sexual identity.

This is the kind of film that I forget is a movie, I feel like a voyeur watching someone’s real life. I’m still somewhat shocked at the idea that Adele and Lea aren’t actually just playing themselves, it’s that convincing. I wish I had more to say, but this is another case of when I was beaten down by the wear of the festival (altitude sickness, lack of sleep, 3-hour movie that ran until 1am).

 Grade: A

12 Years a Slave by Steve McQueen

Sorry world, I didn’t love 12 Years a Slave. I’ve always had a removed appreciation for McQueen's films. I like them, but from a distance. This experience was no different.

I couldn’t immerse myself in Northup’s situation, which is really the only problem I have. Ejiofor, Nyong’o, and Fassbender are masterful in their performances. The story hits many of the important beats, with the patience and consideration they deserve. Still though, McQueen’s left me feeling detached. This problem comes from dialogue that I found too literary, many famous actors, and McQueen’s observational visuals.

This is one of those cases where I feel bad for not loving the film, because of societal pressure and perceived social importance. I look forward to trying this film again, and I certainly hope you support it, as we need more high profile movies that tackle difficult subject matter.

Grade: B+/A-

Death Row: Blaine Milam + Robert Fratta by Werner Herzog

Telluride revealed two new episodes in Herzog’s (Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World) death row documentary series, which examines current death row inmates. The episodes, about Blaine Milam and Robert Fratta respectively, each dive into why these white men are on death row and who they are as human beings.

Herzog opens each episode stating clearly that he’s against the death penalty. What follows are looks at humans who have committed despicable crimes. Herzog is challenging his audience and himself. These emotionally heavy stories play very well as 44 minute segments made for TV, needing no more or less time. For me, they successfully humanized the death penalty discussion, which is often abstract to me.

Grade: B+/A-

Manuscripts Don’t Burn by Mohammad Rasoulof

This is the kind of film that’s existence is inherently political, and thus deserves special consideration. Rasoulof and all the main participants in the film either left Iran previously, or had to leave to ensure their safety upon the initial screening of this film at Cannes. Rasoulof explores the actions of what he calls the Iranian dictatorship, through following two members of the secret police who are attacking Iranian intellectuals. Like Panahi, I find Rasoulof to be a good but underwhelming filmmaker working with important material.

Visually the film is a notch under many of the other films I’ve written about, like Ida, Blue is the Warmest Color, Labor Day, The Past, and even Nebraska. However, Rasoulof works well with actors and tells his story courageously. He successfully humanizes these otherwise despicable people, and highlights the intellectual, emotional and physical persecution of intellectuals in Iran. Watch this film for the content, but not the style. I’m personally of the mind that seeing films like this, and supporting Rasoulof, is the duty of socially conscious film viewers. See this in theaters.



Grade: B+

Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski

Ida is a film that most people won’t see, which is a damn shame. It’s a 1960s story of an orphaned girl about to take her vows in a Polish convent, finding out that she was born Jewish. Pawlikowski explores Ida contemplatively with restraint, nuance and patience. His images fascinate me, and I can’t figure out why. I absolutely need to see this film again, under different conditions (I saw 16 films in about five days, you do the math). 

Sadly and embarrassingly, I don’t have much else to say about the film. My reactions are strong, but on a deeper, intuitive level that hasn’t quite risen to the surface. I’ll get back to you when I get to see the film again.

Grade: A

I was fortunate to attend the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium this year, seeing fifteen films. This "Chapter" has my second set of film reviews. The final installment, coming later this week, will have my take on McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, the new Herzog film Death Row, Palme d'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color and more. 

Labor Day by Jason Reitman, starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin

Reitman strikes again. I absolutely adore Jason Reitman’s films, especially Up in the Air, which I saw three times in theaters. Up in the Air has left me in tears many times, and I’m sure it will many more. Clearly, I’m very biased.

Labor Day is a very different film for Reitman. Rather than being sharp and quick-witted, it’s careful and considered. Reitman introduced the film as a story about love, so I was shocked when the film began as a thriller in which an escaped convict kidnaps a single mother and her 12-year-old son. What follows is a Hollywood story, with the rare quality of using familiar methods masterfully. Reitman lets the camera calmly glide up streets and around trees in the quiet yet intense New England setting.

The film struck me as being about parenting. The boy’s father is around once a week, but he’s not truly mindful and present. Somehow this escaped convict comes into their lives, and touches both mother and son, because he truly pays attention to them. Only a great filmmaker can take a seemingly absurd premise and put the whole theater in tears. Reitman achieves this with grace, further revealing how exceptionally talented he is. 

Grade: A

Nebraska by Alexander Payne, starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte

Despite some beautiful moments, Nebraska didn't connect with me. Alexander Payne’s recent film The Descendants had the same strange juxtaposition of stunningly raw and real emotional moments, ruined by noticeably unrealistic comedy. I imagine that, like me, your reaction to The Descendants will be a strong indicator of how you react to Nebraska.

The landscapes are beautiful, and the black and white cinematography works quite well. However, I couldn’t get past Will Forte’s questionable acting and Payne’s tone. There’s not much deeper I can dig with this film, because I’m driven away from it by the tone. If you loved The Descendants run out to see this, if not, don’t bother.

Grade: B/B-

The Unknown Known by Errol Morris

Who is Donald Rumsfeld really? I still don’t know. The Rumsfeld we see in Morris’ (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War) new documentary doesn’t differ greatly from the Rumsfeld that we’re used to seeing. The documentary reveals Rumsfeld’s self-deception, and his presumed lack of regret. There are a few moments that stood out as valuable, revealing his core philosophies and logic used to make decisions as Secretary of Defense. Overall I was quite disappointed, unclear about what to take from the film.

To be fair, I feel ambivalent writing this. I don’t feel like I have a strong hold on the film, and a fair analysis requires a second viewing. Errol Morris deserves that respect.

Grade: B

Burning Bush: Part 1 by Agnieszka Holland

The first part (84 of about 240min) of Agnieszka Holland’s (Oscar nominated In Darkness, The Wire) new HBO mini-series is exciting and thoughtful, high quality television. The film details the “Prague Spring” in 1968, so history buffs should love it. It moves relatively quickly, often revealing exciting new plot development after exciting new plot development. The reliance on plot excitement was getting overwhelming in just the first 84 min, so I can't imagine how it would feel across 240 min. While I wasn't engaged enough to watch Parts 2 and 3 at the festival, I'm intriguing enough to seek them out when they're publicly available.

I’m not sure how it will be released in the US (as one film, as three parts, as more than three parts?), but it will work under any circumstances. Please note that my experience is only of the first 84 minutes, so it’s severely limited. Holland’s wish is that people watch all four hours in one sitting, which I unfortunately could not do.

Grade: B+

La Maison De La Radio by Nicolas Philibert

This film was the lightest, most inconsequential film I saw at Telluride. Most people I spoke with considered this more of a love letter than an examination, and I agree. Seeing the management of French national radio and the development of content was intriguing, although it would’ve worked better as a short documentary. I don’t have much criticism of this film, it’s simply what it is, and that’s not something I’m particularly interested in exploring as a non-radio listener and person who’s not particularly interested in the French perspective.

One thing that came up in discussions with other students was the relative lack of colored people in the documentary, which seems to be a reflection of the company. Minor, unexplored observations such as this are what kept the film on my radar. Wait for Netflix Instant Watch for this one.

Grade: B-